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Netflix ups investment in Turkey

Netflix is working on three new original scripted series from Turkey that will launch globally in 2021, plus an unscripted show and a movie that will debut later this year.

Pelin Distas

The new originals are If Only, produced by Ay Yapim; Fatma, from Basak Abacigil; Hot Skull, production details of which have not yet been revealed; and international sports reality competition show Exatlon Challenge.

Created by Ece Yorenc and directed by Cagan Irmak, together with Umut Aral, If Only tells the story of Reyhan (Ozge Ozpirincci) who, unhappy and disappointed in her marriage with Nadir (Birkan Sokullu), travels back in time to his proposal.

Created and directed by writer Ozgur Onurme, Fatma follows a 35-year-old cleaner who commits murder while searching for her missing husband who was just released from jail.

Hot Skull is set in a world shaken by an epidemic of madness that spreads through language and speech, where a former linguist is the only person mysteriously unaffected by the disease.

Exatlon Challenge, set to launch on July 3, is based on the format owned by Acun Medya and will feature online influencers from Turkey.

Netflix has also come on board its first original film in Turkey with One Way for Tomorrow, which will star Dilan Cicek Deniz and Metin Akdulger.

Directed and created by Ozan Aciktan and produced by OG Medya, the film tells the romantic story of two strangers who meet on a journey from Ankara to Izmir. It will launch on Netflix globally on June 19.

Elsewhere in Turkey, the streamer has renewed its local original The Gift for a third and final season, which will launch in 2021, and has acquired the films Miracle in Cell No.7 (Yedinci Kogustaki Mucize), Sisters-in-Law (Eltilerin Savasi) and The Way We Are (Biz Boyleyiz). These will launch on Netflix following their theatrical release windows.

Pelin Distas, Netflix’s director of original content, said: “Turkey, with its rich history and cultural heritage, is home to many untold stories. We also know that we have great writers, great actors, great directors and great crews.

“We believe that these authentic stories, told by these amazing talents, would be a joy to watch for our members all around the world. This is why we continue to invest in more and more Netflix originals in Turkey.”

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